First Aid Kit (2012)
Interview Background
Swedish sisters First Aid Kit received early media attention in Australia in 2010 via a memorable Triple J Like A Version cover of Fever Ray’s When I Grow Up. A little over 18 months later, I spoke with older sibling Johanna Söderberg for a cover story promoting their return to Australia for WOMADelaide. When I eventually met the duo at WOMAD and showed them a copy featuring their cover story, they excitedly told me they’d already been given a copy and graciously suggested it was great. The cover itself had been a bit of an issue, since the First Aid Kit promo images we’d been provided were cropped in a way which made a portrait cover difficult. The graphic designer I was working with ended up creating a fake peak to Johanna’s hat so we had more space to play with at the top of the image. When you’re a small publication punching above your weight in terms of quality output, it’s a daily sport of problem-solving - in this case the graphic designer did a great job! The Söderberg sisters have been back to Australia a few times since this interview took place, with their return to WOMADelaide in 2015 showing their remarkable genesis in sound, plus a fashion move from flowing dresses to leather jackets. First Aid Kit are further proof Sweden is richly populated with musical talents.
The following is an edited version of an interview first published in Rip It Up, March 2012.
First Aid Kit - Roar Power
by Scott McLennan
Growing up in Enskede, a few kilometres south of Stockholm, teenagers Johanna and Klara Söderberg would play Bright Eyes’ album I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning and daydream about its creator Conor Oberst and the romantic mystique of his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.
Six years later, the recording of the sisters’ 2012 album The Lion’s Roar found them in this idealised Midwestern locale, working with Oberst, I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning producer Mike Mogis and the extended Saddle Creek Records family.
“It was amazing being there, but it was a little weird,” Johanna Söderberg admits while on tour in Hamburg, “Omaha isn’t a special town and it’s quite boring really, but we were overwhelmed by the love we got from the fantastic music community there. We were invited into that Saddle Creek family and hung out with all sorts of musicians and Mike and Conor’s friends who played on the album. We were just like part of the family and they’d invite us to their barbecues where we’d sit by the fire performing songs at the piano and sing Lucinda Williams songs with Conor. They were amazing people.”
Despite the 10 songs of second album The Lion’s Roar being written in the midst of a cold Swedish winter, First Aid Kit’s music is thick with the star-crossed ache of American alt-country. Haunting pedal steel and lyrics about the end of love offer a spooky salve, with new single Emmylou further cementing First Aid Kit’s influences. The accompanying music video was shot in California’s Joshua Tree, the infamous desert location of country star Gram Parsons’ death in 1973.
“Going there was definitely an emotional experience as we’re very obsessed with Gram Parsons. Being somewhere that he loved so much and where he died, it was a very strong emotional time for us and we almost started to cry going there. It was almost like we were singing to him during the shoot, like he was there.”
Despite their Scandinavian roots, the influence of artists such as Parsons ensures First Aid Kit feel inexplicably drawn to the US. “Absolutely – we have so many cultural references from the American music and television that we grew up with that it’s a very special feeling travelling through America and recognising so many names – like playing the Troubadour in LA where Gram played – and it feels right, for sure. Right now I’m reading a Gram Parsons biography. I just finished Grievous Angel and now I’m reading another one, 20,000 Roads, which is really good for a nerd like me. I didn’t know that much about him so I feel like I’ve learnt a lot about him. Some things aren’t that nice to learn, but his life was quite tragic.”
First Aid Kit road-tested the songs from The Lion’s Roar on tour with Lykke Li late last year. Johanna says their fellow Swedish musician gave them one important tip.
“Lykke told us not to do drugs, but Bright Eyes said that too. I guess that’s something they all agree on - and something I learnt from the Gram Parsons biography. It was interesting touring with her because our audience is very mixed - a lot of old people come to our shows, actually. Lykke’s audience is very much a mix of hipster and hip hop crowds, so it was fun on the nights when we won them over and it went well. People who you never thought would like your music are buying your records, so that was pretty incredible.”
For 21-year-old Johanna and her 18-year-old sister, working alongside Lykke Li and Conor Oberst during the creation of The Lion’s Roar wasn’t the first time they’d mingled with extraordinary artists. Signed by The Knife’s Karin Dreijer in their mid-teens, the duo subsequently worked with Jack White on a cover of Buffy Sainte-Marie’s Universal Soldier. Last year the pair performed Patti Smith’s Dancing Barefoot at Sweden’s Polar Music Prize event to honour the New York artist. First Aid Kit’s stirring rendition of her song moved Smith to tears.
“We spoke to her very briefly after the show, but she sat next to the King of Denmark and so we couldn’t go up to her and interrupt their conversation! I think that night we were just inspired by her presence – she’s a loving human being and powerful woman, so it was a magical moment that night performing for her and it meant a lot for us. We’d never performed for royalty before that night, either!”
Their audiences now include monarchs, but the Söderberg girls have always enjoyed performing no matter who was watching. When their parents had family friends over, the sisters would hold short concerts.
“Whenever there were people in the house we’d always perform. We always loved performing and being on stage, so it came quite easily and it’s never been an issue at all. We’ve always been very enthusiastic and our first tour of Australia in 2010 was a huge thing for us – we were just so surprised that people over there knew our music.”
Even before their cover of Fleet Foxes’ Tiger Mountain Peasant Song became a YouTube sensation in 2008, the Söderbergs’ childhood had been filled with music. Their father, Benkt Söderberg, found musical success in the ‘80s with Swedish hit-makers Lolita Pop.
“He quit when I was born,” his oldest daughter explains. “Lolita Pop were very different from what we do but it has a quality to it and it’s interesting. They toured with Television and became friends with them, so they’re their most famous friends. They tried out a career in New York for a while too, but it didn’t really work out. Dad knows a lot of people in the business so in a way that helped us out - his experience and his knowledge gave us a good start. Now he’s our sound technician, so we probably wouldn’t be here without him. Our dad makes the best homemade meatballs too, which he adds syrup to. They’re very good!”
With a friendship as close as their harmonies, Johanna can’t foresee a musical future without Klara at her side.
“Our sisterhood and friendship is so important I can’t see myself doing it alone. It’s great to have someone to share the responsibility, both on stage and in general - she really is my best friend.”
The Lion’s Roar (Liberator)
Unpublished Interview Material
Your music suggests your very drawn to US music culture. It must feel special being able to visit hallowed locations you’ve grown up reading and hearing about.
“Absolutely. We have so many cultural references from the American music and television that we grew up with that it’s a very special feeling travelling through America and recognising so many names, such as playing the Troubadour in LA where Gram played, and it feels right, for sure.”
There a lot of your dad’s former band Lolita Pop’s videos on YouTube – do you ever have a look?
“Yeah, we do that all the time. It’s very different from what we do but it has a quality to it and it’s interesting. I don’t know what he thinks about that though.”
Would he get recognised by fans when you were little and growing up?
“Well the band was really big in Sweden, but I think it was mostly the singer who would get recognised the most.”
Given your dad was friends with Television, that’s a cool link with you having played in front of Patti Smith given her work with Television guitarist Tom Verlaine.
“Yeah! I think the singer for Lolita Pop also played for Patti Smith that night and she had Tom Verlaine’s old shirt, so she gave it back to Patti. It was kind of funny, a little strange.”
What do you miss when you’re away from Sweden?
“I think we miss just the nature. Travelling around America you miss the forests and the calm of Sweden. And meatballs, of course!”
When I interviewed your old boss Karin Dreijer Anderson from The Knife , she said: “You shouldn’t have to look at the person behind the music - I think the music should stand by itself.” Should image go hand in hand with music?
“I think what Karin does is so unique that it doesn’t apply to all kinds of music. What we do is also about who we are as people and when you come to our shows it’s important that we can look people in the eye and they have a connection with us. Karin not showing her face isn’t relevant in our case, but having our music able to stand alone is important and we don’t put our image first. That should always be the case – that’s the sort of music we like.”
Did she give you tips when you first began working with her or did she give you freedom to make up your own minds?
“She let us do whatever we wanted to and she taught us that we should always go by our own vision and not let anyone else try to form us. It’s so easy when you’re young to let labels tell you how you should look and what you should do, but Karin taught us the importance of knowing what you want and being very determined.”
Swedish sisters First Aid Kit received early media attention in Australia in 2010 via a memorable Triple J Like A Version cover of Fever Ray’s When I Grow Up. A little over 18 months later, I spoke with older sibling Johanna Söderberg for a cover story promoting their return to Australia for WOMADelaide. When I eventually met the duo at WOMAD and showed them a copy featuring their cover story, they excitedly told me they’d already been given a copy and graciously suggested it was great. The cover itself had been a bit of an issue, since the First Aid Kit promo images we’d been provided were cropped in a way which made a portrait cover difficult. The graphic designer I was working with ended up creating a fake peak to Johanna’s hat so we had more space to play with at the top of the image. When you’re a small publication punching above your weight in terms of quality output, it’s a daily sport of problem-solving - in this case the graphic designer did a great job! The Söderberg sisters have been back to Australia a few times since this interview took place, with their return to WOMADelaide in 2015 showing their remarkable genesis in sound, plus a fashion move from flowing dresses to leather jackets. First Aid Kit are further proof Sweden is richly populated with musical talents.
The following is an edited version of an interview first published in Rip It Up, March 2012.
First Aid Kit - Roar Power
by Scott McLennan
Growing up in Enskede, a few kilometres south of Stockholm, teenagers Johanna and Klara Söderberg would play Bright Eyes’ album I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning and daydream about its creator Conor Oberst and the romantic mystique of his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.
Six years later, the recording of the sisters’ 2012 album The Lion’s Roar found them in this idealised Midwestern locale, working with Oberst, I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning producer Mike Mogis and the extended Saddle Creek Records family.
“It was amazing being there, but it was a little weird,” Johanna Söderberg admits while on tour in Hamburg, “Omaha isn’t a special town and it’s quite boring really, but we were overwhelmed by the love we got from the fantastic music community there. We were invited into that Saddle Creek family and hung out with all sorts of musicians and Mike and Conor’s friends who played on the album. We were just like part of the family and they’d invite us to their barbecues where we’d sit by the fire performing songs at the piano and sing Lucinda Williams songs with Conor. They were amazing people.”
Despite the 10 songs of second album The Lion’s Roar being written in the midst of a cold Swedish winter, First Aid Kit’s music is thick with the star-crossed ache of American alt-country. Haunting pedal steel and lyrics about the end of love offer a spooky salve, with new single Emmylou further cementing First Aid Kit’s influences. The accompanying music video was shot in California’s Joshua Tree, the infamous desert location of country star Gram Parsons’ death in 1973.
“Going there was definitely an emotional experience as we’re very obsessed with Gram Parsons. Being somewhere that he loved so much and where he died, it was a very strong emotional time for us and we almost started to cry going there. It was almost like we were singing to him during the shoot, like he was there.”
Despite their Scandinavian roots, the influence of artists such as Parsons ensures First Aid Kit feel inexplicably drawn to the US. “Absolutely – we have so many cultural references from the American music and television that we grew up with that it’s a very special feeling travelling through America and recognising so many names – like playing the Troubadour in LA where Gram played – and it feels right, for sure. Right now I’m reading a Gram Parsons biography. I just finished Grievous Angel and now I’m reading another one, 20,000 Roads, which is really good for a nerd like me. I didn’t know that much about him so I feel like I’ve learnt a lot about him. Some things aren’t that nice to learn, but his life was quite tragic.”
First Aid Kit road-tested the songs from The Lion’s Roar on tour with Lykke Li late last year. Johanna says their fellow Swedish musician gave them one important tip.
“Lykke told us not to do drugs, but Bright Eyes said that too. I guess that’s something they all agree on - and something I learnt from the Gram Parsons biography. It was interesting touring with her because our audience is very mixed - a lot of old people come to our shows, actually. Lykke’s audience is very much a mix of hipster and hip hop crowds, so it was fun on the nights when we won them over and it went well. People who you never thought would like your music are buying your records, so that was pretty incredible.”
For 21-year-old Johanna and her 18-year-old sister, working alongside Lykke Li and Conor Oberst during the creation of The Lion’s Roar wasn’t the first time they’d mingled with extraordinary artists. Signed by The Knife’s Karin Dreijer in their mid-teens, the duo subsequently worked with Jack White on a cover of Buffy Sainte-Marie’s Universal Soldier. Last year the pair performed Patti Smith’s Dancing Barefoot at Sweden’s Polar Music Prize event to honour the New York artist. First Aid Kit’s stirring rendition of her song moved Smith to tears.
“We spoke to her very briefly after the show, but she sat next to the King of Denmark and so we couldn’t go up to her and interrupt their conversation! I think that night we were just inspired by her presence – she’s a loving human being and powerful woman, so it was a magical moment that night performing for her and it meant a lot for us. We’d never performed for royalty before that night, either!”
Their audiences now include monarchs, but the Söderberg girls have always enjoyed performing no matter who was watching. When their parents had family friends over, the sisters would hold short concerts.
“Whenever there were people in the house we’d always perform. We always loved performing and being on stage, so it came quite easily and it’s never been an issue at all. We’ve always been very enthusiastic and our first tour of Australia in 2010 was a huge thing for us – we were just so surprised that people over there knew our music.”
Even before their cover of Fleet Foxes’ Tiger Mountain Peasant Song became a YouTube sensation in 2008, the Söderbergs’ childhood had been filled with music. Their father, Benkt Söderberg, found musical success in the ‘80s with Swedish hit-makers Lolita Pop.
“He quit when I was born,” his oldest daughter explains. “Lolita Pop were very different from what we do but it has a quality to it and it’s interesting. They toured with Television and became friends with them, so they’re their most famous friends. They tried out a career in New York for a while too, but it didn’t really work out. Dad knows a lot of people in the business so in a way that helped us out - his experience and his knowledge gave us a good start. Now he’s our sound technician, so we probably wouldn’t be here without him. Our dad makes the best homemade meatballs too, which he adds syrup to. They’re very good!”
With a friendship as close as their harmonies, Johanna can’t foresee a musical future without Klara at her side.
“Our sisterhood and friendship is so important I can’t see myself doing it alone. It’s great to have someone to share the responsibility, both on stage and in general - she really is my best friend.”
The Lion’s Roar (Liberator)
Unpublished Interview Material
Your music suggests your very drawn to US music culture. It must feel special being able to visit hallowed locations you’ve grown up reading and hearing about.
“Absolutely. We have so many cultural references from the American music and television that we grew up with that it’s a very special feeling travelling through America and recognising so many names, such as playing the Troubadour in LA where Gram played, and it feels right, for sure.”
There a lot of your dad’s former band Lolita Pop’s videos on YouTube – do you ever have a look?
“Yeah, we do that all the time. It’s very different from what we do but it has a quality to it and it’s interesting. I don’t know what he thinks about that though.”
Would he get recognised by fans when you were little and growing up?
“Well the band was really big in Sweden, but I think it was mostly the singer who would get recognised the most.”
Given your dad was friends with Television, that’s a cool link with you having played in front of Patti Smith given her work with Television guitarist Tom Verlaine.
“Yeah! I think the singer for Lolita Pop also played for Patti Smith that night and she had Tom Verlaine’s old shirt, so she gave it back to Patti. It was kind of funny, a little strange.”
What do you miss when you’re away from Sweden?
“I think we miss just the nature. Travelling around America you miss the forests and the calm of Sweden. And meatballs, of course!”
When I interviewed your old boss Karin Dreijer Anderson from The Knife , she said: “You shouldn’t have to look at the person behind the music - I think the music should stand by itself.” Should image go hand in hand with music?
“I think what Karin does is so unique that it doesn’t apply to all kinds of music. What we do is also about who we are as people and when you come to our shows it’s important that we can look people in the eye and they have a connection with us. Karin not showing her face isn’t relevant in our case, but having our music able to stand alone is important and we don’t put our image first. That should always be the case – that’s the sort of music we like.”
Did she give you tips when you first began working with her or did she give you freedom to make up your own minds?
“She let us do whatever we wanted to and she taught us that we should always go by our own vision and not let anyone else try to form us. It’s so easy when you’re young to let labels tell you how you should look and what you should do, but Karin taught us the importance of knowing what you want and being very determined.”
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